Vanilla

Press samples

As a big Dragon’s Den fan, I tend to bingewatch the episodes whenever they are available on Netflix and I am amazed at how many of the products I use that have appeared on the show! I use makeup brand Youthforia, the Scrub Daddy, Blume, Cheekbone Beauty, Elate Cosmetics and now 7 Virtues!

I honestly do not know of any well-known Canadian fragrance brands, let alone one that is in Sephora! Haling from Halifax, Nova Scotia, I remember seeing founder Barb Stegemann on Dragons’ Den years ago and back then I wasn’t as into fragrance as I am now so I kind of lost track of 7 Virtues and now it’s huge! The story behind 7 Virtues is kind of an amazing one as its roots lie in “making perfume not war”. When Barb’s best friend, Captain Trevor Greene was horrifically wounded on a mission in Afghanistan, she decided to take on a mission of peace by sourcing ingredients like orange blossom and rose essential oils from Afghanistan, Rwanda, Haiti and Madagascar and empowering the people there by paying a fair wage and helping their economy. For example, in Afghanistan, she paid competitive wages to farmers who grew orange blossom to discourage growing poppies which were responsible for the global heroin supply. I am horrifically simplifying her story, but if you can watch Perfume War, I’m sure this will all make much more sense!

Cherry Ambition

Made with sustainably sourced sandalwood from Australia and upcycled green cognac, Cherry Ambition, would not have been a scent I would have picked up on my own, but it has surprised me! The top notes are Cherry (though I find it more subtle than expected), pink pepper, mandarin and marshmallow, heart notes are cherry blossom, osmanthus, orris and saffron and base notes are vanilla, amber, musk, frankincense and guaiacwood. I had to Google a few of those notes and learned some new fragrances!

I am not normally a big cherry fan so I was quite hesitant to spritz this on, but it was much cozier and warmer than I was expecting and felt like a more confident “upgrade” to my usual vanilla base. I feel like having a 50mL of this is maybe overkill as I don’t know how often I would wear this compared to Vanilla Woods, but it is a lovely option if you are looking for a boost of confidence and something that doesn’t smell like a young teenager.

As this is my first time experiencing 7 Virtues, I have to comment on the packaging as what stood out to me on the 50mL bottle was the cap which was weighted and stamped with the phrase “Make perfume not war” in addition to the 7 Virtues logo.

Vanilla Woods

Vanilla lovers THIS is your fragrance! With a top note of pear, heart note of rose and base notes of vanilla, amber and caramel, Vanilla Woods is a dream! It’s sweet, but not in a childish way, it’s creamy, you can smell the pear and the warmth of the vanilla and caramel. It makes me feel relaxed, comforted and instantly soothed.

This 10mL travel size is perfect for someone like me who likes to mix up their fragrances quite a bit although I actually might get the full size of this as I have been wearing this to bed, to work and just around the house to feel happy. I totally get why this fragrance has been so talked about online!

While 7 Virtues is available at Sephora, I would prefer to buy from the actual 7 Virtues website as they have a really great “Fragrance Try” policy where all full sized fragrances come with a sample size of the same fragrance. You are meant to use the sample size and if you like the fragrance, then great, you keep the full size, but if you decide that it’s not for you, just return it for free within 30 days! They also do sales just like Sephora and I would rather my money go straight to 7 Virtues.

Give 7 Virtues a try! Especially Vanilla Woods! I am going to pick up the Discovery Set so I can try the other vanilla-based scents!

You know what I haven’t used for a really long time? A physical exfoliator. I’m also looking for a good face mask because it feels like I haven’t ‘masked’ for ages and when I go through the extensive range of products I have here, there is only one that I feel even vaguely tempted by. I think I have some on the way from a new brand so I’ll save a masking post for another time, but my exfoliator wish has been granted and I have the CHANEL Sublimage Purifying & Radiance Revealing Vanilla Seed Face Scrub.

Call me shallow, but it was a thrill to discover that the mask is black – I just wasn’t expecting it at all – but it’s because it’s so packed with vanilla seed. It turns out that vanilla is a rich source of niacin, thiamine, B6 and pantothenic acid, all of which are lovely for skin. What I’ve been craving, complexion wise, is that extra clean and smooth feel that makes everything you apply thereafter feel like the most divine liquid silk that your skin drinks up and looks utterly radiant. I’m more inclined to use an enzymatic exfoliator (I’ve got a good one to tell you about coming up) in the form of a lotion but sometimes you just want the big guns, right?

Yes, CHANEL Sublimage Purifying & Radiance Revealing Vanilla Seed Face Scrub is eye wateringly expensive, but let me tell you, it does the job. It scratches that itch (rather than your face). You can ‘scrub’ to your heart’s content because there’s no sharpness to the grains suspended in a rather skin cooling gel but I’d suggest you do a double rinse because I still found a few grains lurking after I’d removed the mask.

Sure enough, the products I used afterwards (coming up in another post) were slurped up by my skin. I usually suggest using any face mask in the morning but in this particular instance I’m going to suggest it for night time. My reasoning is that while it’s brilliant for all skin types, it’s ‘purifying’, meaning that it obliterates oil (perfect if you are oily skinned) so you need some richness to add in afterwards, and what better than a night cream. If you are generally quite oily, it’s fine to use in the morning and follow with your usual moisturiser.

CHANEL Sublimage Purifying & Radiance Revealing Vanilla Seed Face Scrub is £125 (ouch, I know) HERE.

FRAGRANCE | 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods and Cherry Ambition #CanadianJuly | Cosmetic Proof

CHANEL Sublimage Purifying & Radiance Revealing Vanilla Seed Face Scrub